


A Phantom Christmas

by Assassino



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/M, One Shot, Post-Persona 5, Slight ShuMako Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-17 21:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21950194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Assassino/pseuds/Assassino
Summary: At the end of summer, Haru decides to prepare for Christmas ahead of time by holding a gift drive where the Phantom Thieves help her make gifts for poor and neglected students at Shujin.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	A Phantom Christmas

25 August 2017

The heat of the summer sunlight bled through the windows of the van. The sounds of the cool wind the air conditioner expended and Ryuji’s very audible snoring filled the vehicle. Futaba tapped away at something on her phone while Yusuke seemed to be sketching Ren looking out the window. Despite Ryuji’s loud noises, Morgana slept peacefully on Ren’s lap. Makoto had her eyes focused on the road and the wheel while Ann slept quietly in the front seat. Then there was Haru, who sat in the middle of the back seats. Summer vacation was soon coming to a close but her mind already wandered to the future. School always felt the same for her. 

Haru started fidgeting with her hands. She wanted to do something with the holiday season this year. It was an odd thing to think about, especially during this heat wave. But her mind continued to wander regardless.

“What’s wrong?” Ren seemed to notice her nervousness, which in turn led Yusuke and Futaba to turn their attention to her.

“O-oh! It’s nothing!” Haru forced a smile but her expression didn’t seem to convince Ren. He raised his eyebrow in doubt while Yusuke contemplated with his hand on his chin. 

Futaba creeped herself closer and closer to Haru’s face with a blank stare, “Tell us your secrets, Haru.”

“I don’t have any secrets!”

“Yet you did look fairly inquisitive and troubled contrasted to your normal expression.” Yusuke added.

Ren turned back to Haru, “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

Haru seemed to always be surprised by the care and affection that her friends constantly gave her. It has been almost a year since Haru had joined the Phantom Thieves but she is still not used to it. Part of her almost believed that they too would use her for status or wealth, but Ren and the others constantly disproved that notion.

Haru sighed and smiled, “It’s a bit of a silly idea. You don’t need to worry about it.”

“But now I want to know!” Futaba said as she leaned closer to Haru and Ren, almost headbutting Yusuke in the process.

She giggled, “Well, if you must know, I’ve been thinking about starting a gift drive of sorts. I used to hear stories about students at Shujin who wouldn’t celebrate Christmas due to money issues or their family being busy during the holidays. I thought it would be nice to spread some Christmas cheer! But it’s silly. It’s still summer and we haven’t gone back to school yet.”

“I think that’s a great idea. And I would be happy to help with the drive if you want.”

“Oh no, I wouldn’t want to bother you with more work, Ren. You must be busy with school still and already have plans for Christmas.”

“I’ll be fine, and my parents actually work during the holidays so I was planning on celebrating Christmas with you guys.” After Ren spoke, a blonde pigtail poked out from the front seat. 

“Ren’s coming for Christmas too? Awesome!” Ann cheered.

Cat purring coming from Ren’s lap stopped and Morgana woke up with a yawn, “Is it already Christmas? Have I slept that long?”

“Haru is devising a plan for a Christmas gift drive and Ren would like to help. I would personally be happy to assist as well.” Yusuke informed the sleepy cat.

“No one wants a painting for Christmas, Inari. Kids want toys and video games! I just so happen to know a good website to get all the goods!” Futaba leaned back onto her seat and showed a shopping site on her phone.

“Actually, I wanted to make the presents myself. Of course I could buy all the presents, but I feel the most genuine ones are handmade.” Haru then hung her head low and frowned, “But I’m not very good at making things. Maybe some sweets and food, but nothing else.”

Morgana stood up, “That’s where we come in.”

“Exactly. I’m pretty good at making things. I’m sure I can make some toys with the right materials.” Ren smiled.

Ann’s eyes lit up with excitement, “Ooooo! I love wrapping presents! Can you help me with some of my ideas for designs, Yusuke?” 

“I cannot contribute my art to something that is meant to be consumed for a few minutes, then tossed aside and thrown away!” The artists spoke exasperated and shocked.

“Uhhh, isn’t that just a description of all art?”

“Futaba, how dare you!”

Haru shook her head and giggled. Every moment with her friends was a joy, even if it was just watching Yusuke and Futaba bicker so loudly that their argument woke Ryuji up from his deep sleep. But they had made Haru hopeful that this plan might actually come along. Summer was just about to end but Haru couldn’t wait for the holidays to come around.

15 November 2017

Haru had worked with Makoto and the new student council at Shujin to set up her gift drive idea. The new council seemed overjoyed to finally have a project to work on, which left Makoto a little disappointed. But regardless, they announced to the school that Shujin Academy would be having a gift giveaway for students who submit letters during lunch about what they want for Christmas. Message boxes were set up during lunch time and collected by members of the student council. Haru and the others didn’t expect to receive so many letters within a couple of weeks.

Ryuji and Ren came into the student council room with two nearly full boxes of letters from students. Setting it down on the table where everyone was gathered, Ryuji laid back into his seat in exhaustion. “Maaaaaan! Last time we had to read a bunch of stuff like this, we did it for the school festival last year.”

“It does feel like old times, being in this room again.” Makoto added while she started to take the letters out in stacks.

Futaba sat next to Makoto, watching Makoto and the others. “Wasn’t this also where Ryuji outed the Phantom Thieves to Makoto?”

Morgana perked up from Haru’s lap, “Oh yeah! He just doesn’t know when to be quiet, huh?”

“Shut up you dumb cat! And how do you know about that?!”

Makoto sighed deeply, “I think we should focus on reading these letters right now. We only have a limited time in this room. And we should start by separating the letters into two piles. One for requests that we’ll be able to do and another for ones we can’t. We can include any letters that aren’t serious in there too.”

“Alright! You heard Makoto. Let’s get to work.” Ren affirmed with everyone.

After some more organizing and groaning from Ryuji specifically, the team got to work with exploring and reading through the stacks of letters from the current students of Shujin.

“What the hell? This one is asking for a new car? We don’t have that kind of cash!”

Yusuke helped up another letter to his face with a curious look in his eyes, “This one speaks about wanting chickens very badly. I can relate to this mystery man’s passion for animals and creatures of the Earth. We should find some chickens for him!” 

Ann raised her brow, “Uhhh, I don’t think that’s what it’s actually talking about.”

“Then I think this one may hold promise! He seems to have included some drawings to help illustrate his request.” 

Yusuke was about to start reading until Makoto peered over, a face of disgust and anger on her as she snatched the paper from his hands. “Not that one!”

Ren let out a deep sigh before putting down the letter in his hand, “Seems like a lot of these are just joke letters.”

He looked off to the side where Haru seemed to be hanging her head, staring at her stack of papers with melancholy. Ren didn’t know why Haru wanted to do this so badly. But that didn’t matter too much to him. Haru really wanted to make this gift drive work. So he was going to do his best to make this work.

“We’re just going to have to go through these faster. Skim through what they say and throw them away if they’re not anything serious. We have about an hour left in here. Let’s go!”

With a confirmation from the entire team, everyone started to blaze through these letters faster than before. Ren’s show of renewed vigor seemed to have inspired Haru to start working through these letters more, especially now that the team seemed to now be reaching some genuine requests.

“This one is asking for a game I made! I can do this one!” Futaba practically leap from her chair in enthusiasm.

“Wait, for real? Since when did you make a game?” Ryuji asked as he crouched behind Futaba’s chair to read some of the letter.

“A while ago. I got bored and just wrote one up in a day. Seems like he plays it everyday. He even included his username. Me thinks I have the perfect idea for his present.” 

Ren poked Makoto’s forehead to get her attention, “This one is pretty reasonable. She wants to get a toy RC car for her little brother. I’ve never made one but we can try together.”

“I can certainly try. I would need to find some books on this. Maybe I can find something at my school’s library…”

Ren chuckled to himself, “Ooooor, I can just show you instead of you burying yourself in books like old times.”

Makoto giggled with a small shade of red on her cheeks, “Sorry, force of habit. I would very much enjoy that.”

On the other side of the table, Haru noticed that Yusuke was attentively reading a letter. She moved herself closer to Yusuke and tried to read some of the writing. But she didn’t seem to catch a single word before he snatched it away. Haru pouted, “I just wanted to read what you were looking at Yusuke.”

“My apologies, Haru. But this one is best left as a surprise until the product is finished. This request can be done by myself.”

Haru raised her eyes in curiosity, “So it’s a painting request?”

“Precisely. The contents of the commission, I will keep to myself for now.”

Haru smiled and nodded to her friend. The majority of the letters had disappointed her earlier but seeing everyone work towards devising ideas for presents gave her hope. 

23 December 2017

Christmas was within reach and the team gathered at the attic of Leblanc for one last push to get these toys done. In total, they were able to find only six requests they could feastable work on. Ren and Makoto were currently both sitting at the old workbench at the far left hand corner of the room. Makoto had her laptop open and connected via USB to the RC car, which Ren made the shell to look like a luxurious sports car. Futaba sat on Ren’s old bed and tapped away at her computer, seemingly working on the videogame she mentioned last month. Yusuke was sitting next to her writing a letter to the recipient of this online gift. Ann sat at the couch, wrapping up both a nice notebook Makoto had for a student who requested some school supplies for Christmas and an intricate doll that Ann brought for another student looking for a present for their little sister. Down in the kitchen, Ryuji was helping Haru bake some cookies. Once they put a couple of batches in the oven, Haru sat at the booth and stared at the window, mesmerized by the snowflakes sticking to the glass and coating the alleyway outside.

Ryuji noticed Haru isolating herself and sat across from her, “What’s up Haru? You seem down.”

Haru’s eyes widened as her trance was broken, “Oh! I apologize, Ryuji. I didn’t mean to seem so sad.”

“Hey, it’s alright if something’s upseting you. You don’t have to tell me but you shouldn’t just bottle it up. Okay?”

Haru hadn’t talked much to Ryuji aside from being in the main group and in the Phantom Thieves group chat. And that’s not at all because she doesn’t like him as a person, Haru just never really got the chance to know him better personally. But she always recognized and admired the care and heart he showed towards the others. Ryuji was someone who thought more with his heart than his head, but that’s what makes him a wonderful friend. 

Haru continued looking out at the snowy outside, “For most of my life, Christmas was like a dream. I always wanted it to come true but every time the holidays came around, I had no one to enjoy it with. Father spent the holidays working and wouldn’t talk to me until after New Years usually. And I had no friends… I wanted to do this gift drive mainly to give other people a Christmas where they weren’t alone.”

“Oh… I’m sorry Haru. I-I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to pry or anything-”

“No, it’s okay! It’s relieving to talk about it honestly.” 

Ryuji smiled and nodded, “You know, I didn’t always have the best Christmas times. The ones where my dad was there were really bad with him being a drunk asshole and all, so I have some experience with shitty holidays. And I’m happy spending Christmas with mom and all, but you guys are who really made it a lot more fun. I never really felt at home with anyone else other than my mom but now I do.”

“Awww, that’s so sweet Ryuji!”

Haru and Ryuji turned around to find Ann listening into their conversation from the middle of the stairs, giggling and a big grin on her face. 

Ryuji blushed a little, “Hey! I thought you were wrapping presents!”

“I waaas but Yusuke wants you two to come up. He’s gonna show us the painting he made.”

“Is this the painting he made for one of the requests?” Haru asked.

“Mhmm! Now get up here!”

Haru and Ryuji both walked up stairs, met by Yusuke standing next to a painting wrapped in a big white cloth. The rest of the team stood in front of Yusuke like he was a street performer.

The artist cleared his throat and began to speak once Haru and Ryuji joined the others, “I have kept this painting a secret since I believed this request to be a special one. I will let this boy’s letter explain everything.” Yusuke pulled out the folder letter from his pocket and began reading:

_ Dear Christmas Helpers, _

_ You may remember what happened a year ago during this time. I don’t think many people do but I remember the Phantom Thieves protecting everyone and saving Christmas. They always fought for justice and truth, even when the public turned on them. I was in a dark place for a while before that happened. I had no one to turn to and no one to help. I started to feel vengeful towards society and people. But when the Phantom Thieves started to change people’s hearts for the better, I started to believe in people again. That there are still good people in this world who will help just because they can. That inspired me to help people around me. To fix my mistakes and help others struggling with the same stuff I did.  _

_ Anyways, enough about me. What I really want for Christmas is something that reminds me of the Phantom Thieves. So I can be reminded everyday of the people who inspired me to contribute good to this world. _

_ Merry Christmas! _

_ -Hatsuo _

Yusuke finished the letter and put it back into his pocket. “And now, for the finished product for our Phantom Thief fanatic.” Ripping off the cloth, he revealed a massive landscape painting. One that displayed the same image of the Phantom Thieves that they showed all of Japan the night they took Shido’s heart. The faces are still hidden but each of the Thieves’ attires were beautifully detailed and depicted. Behind them, instead of a bright white light, was the Phantom Thieves logo in all it’s bright red glory.

All of them were in awe at the painting. Haru couldn’t stop smiling and even started to cry a little bit. Then a lot more when everyone started to hug her. Makoto and Ren first held her, then invited everyone else to join in on the hug. Morgana was even trapped inside and squeezed in the middle.

Haru never imagined that she would be spending such an amazing Christmas like this. One surrounded by friends that not only inspired good in others, but good in her too. A Phantom Thief Christmas that Haru will cherish for the rest of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> I do apologize if this may feel rushed, but I felt the need to write a story for Christmas! I would have loved to make this story longer but the holidays didn't give me that luxury. Anyways, please leave any criticisms or comments if you have any! Thank you to @Master_Aqua_EX for helping me with drafts of this story.
> 
> Merry Christmas everyone!


End file.
